Douggie McMeekin as Gary in The Night Before Christmas (Photo: Martyn Andrews)
When: On until 29th December 2018
Where: Southwark Playhouse, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD
£: Tickets cost £20 or £16 for concessions
What is it?
The Night Before Christmas promises to be the darkest Christmas comedy in London this festive season. Southwark Playhouse presents an alternative tale with a coked-up Christmas Scrooge, his even grumpier best pal, a prostitute and an unruly Elf.
It’s Christmas Eve. Gary’s not feeling the Christmas spirit. He’s promised his son some Power Ranger figures, but he hasn’t quite found the time to deliver them, and now his ex-wife is on the attack…
And that’s not even the worst of it. Some tiny idiot has broken into his warehouse, and Gary is pretty sure this isn’t just a festive coincidence; but with no-one else but his grouchy pal Simon to help him decide what to do, could Christmas be cancelled forever?
Anthony Neilson’s anarchic, anti-festive black comedy The Night Before Christmas, has been revived for the first time by director Alex Sutton, with an all-star cast, including Douggie McMeekin (HBO’s Chernobyl) as bitter and twisted Gary, Hollyoaks’ Michael Salami as Scrooge Simon, Unique Spencer (2017 Spotlight Prize nominee) as single mother and prostitute Cherry, and Dan Starkey (Doctor Who, Inside Number 9) as the messed up, junkie Elf.
Michael Salami stars as Simon (Photo: Martyn Andrews)
This edgy production about finding the true spirit of Christmas features rude jokes, anti-festive debauchery and downright dirtiness, telling the tale of Gary, his motley crew and their big (or not so big) secret that could save him and even Christmas itself.
The Night Before Christmas is equal parts screwed up and joyous, as the cast stick two fingers up at sleigh bells and stockings, recognising that Christmas can actually be a bit rubbish sometimes and that it may have lost its true meaning along the way.
While Christmas is a joyous occasion, for many it can be a lonely and often vulnerable time of the year. For this reason, The Night Before Christmas has chosen to partner with the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity, Centrepoint.
The production will be collecting donations at the end of each performance to support 16-25 year olds impacted by homelessness in the UK.
More info: southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/whats-on
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